Late goal breaks Liverpool hearts

Stoppage time strike gives Villarreal crucial advantage

Substitute Adrian Lopez struck deep into stoppage time to give Villarreal a precious advantage as they beat Liverpool 1-0 in an entertaining Europa League semi-final first leg at El Madrigal.

The striker had the simple task of
tapping Denis Suarez's lay-off into an empty net after Kolo Toure had
been caught out by a floated ball which the midfielder controlled
superbly before breaking unopposed into the penalty area and squaring
for Lopez to finish.

The outcome was rough on Jurgen Klopp's
side who had given a good account of themselves over the 90 minutes,
but slipped to their first loss in 12 European outings this season
and must repeat the heroics of the previous round at Anfield if they
are to make the final.

The Spanish side started brightly, but
it was Liverpool who had the first chance of the game on four minutes
as Joe Allen got on the end of Adam Lallana's low cross, but shot
straight at Villarreal goalkeeper Andres Sergio Arsenjo.

The home side came close on 12 minutes
with former Tottenham striker Roberto Soldado shooting narrowly wide
after Liverpool's defence had failed to pick up his run into the
penalty area to meet Bruno's quickly-taken free-kick.

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet had
to react quickly on 20 minutes to parry Tomas Pina's low drive before
Lucas Leiva got across to block as the ball rebounded to the same
player on the edge of the penalty area.

Villarreal continued to threaten and
both Kolo Toure and Alberto Moreno made vital interceptions to snuff
out dangerous balls into the Liverpool box.

Soldado was proving hugely influential
in the Villarreal attack and was unlucky to see his snap shot from
the edge of the area brush the outside of the post five minutes
before the break as Mignolet scrambled across his goal.

But the Spanish side couldn't find a
way through and Jurgen Klopp's side will have been pleased to have
kept their hosts scoreless after an entertaining opening 45 minutes.

Villarreal threatened again immediately
after the break, with Cedric Bakambu heading a Jonathan dos Santos
corner against the outside of the post after midfielder Denis Suarez
had carved open the Liverpool defence .

Mario then wastefully blazed over from
a tight angle with a number of Villarreal players lurking inside the
six-yard box.

But Liverpool were showing plenty of
grit and determination and posed a significant threat themselves
going forward.

Indeed, the home side were given a
stark reminder of that threat on 65 minutes when Arsenjo just managed
to get his fingertips to Roberto Firmino's low drive to turn the ball
onto the post.

Liverpool looked more comfortable as
the second half progressed and began to enjoy plenty of possession in
midfield.

They appeared to have completely
extinguished the Villarreal threat, but were almost behind five
minutes from the end when Mignolet had to go full stretch to tip
Bakambu's effort away for a corner after a through ball had
completely opened up their defence.

However, they broke quickly from the
resulting corner as Moreno's pace took him beyond the last man, but
the full-back shot harmlessly wide with substitute Jordon Ibe well
positioned in the middle.

Liverpool were made to pay in the
cruellest fashion within a minute of Moreno's miss as, with the game
now deep into stoppage time, the superb Suarez took advantage of a
rare lapse from Toure to collect a floated cross-field ball before
breaking into the penalty area and calmly squaring the ball for
Lopez to score to give Villarreal a precious advantage heading to
Anfield for the second leg next week.

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